Leaves are beginning to turn, girls are ordering pumpkin spice chai, and the air has a crispy chill. The students are accustomed to the new school year and feel ready to take on the rest of the year. As seniors frantically work to get ahead of college essays, the freshmen eagerly await their first homecoming. Throughout the hallways, a sense of school spirit and enthusiasm is prevalent as fall sports kick off into full swing. Every new year brings new changes, and students are quick to take note. The school schedule has been a topic of discussion throughout the halls, with students expressing mixed feelings. Those same halls have been recently disrupted by construction and renovations. Additionally, throughout the halls, there has been discussion over school policy rules and changes.
Last spring, the Boulder community voted on new bonds that were set to be put to use over the summer. The school is undergoing various renovations, which began over the summer. Notably, there have been changes in the business hallway, which has moved to the second floor, along with new carpets throughout various classrooms. With the new carpet upgrades, the school has also implemented a school-wide no-eating policy to help preserve the carpets. As athletic director, Ryan Bishop, explained, “We want to minimize food and drink spills in all areas with the new carpets, as we want them to last for as long as possible. If we were only to ban food and drinks where the new carpets are, realistically, students would not follow the [procedure/rules], which is why we decided to implement the new rule in all class spaces, even those with old carpet and flooring is yet to be redone.”
The new rules state that food and non-water beverages are prohibited from all classrooms and educational spaces. The library falls under this category: for years, the Boulder High library has been a space for students of all years to congregate and study. It has a large main section filled with tables and chairs that, in the past, were often filled with students socializing and studying. Now those tables are regularly seen empty. The dedicated quiet section in the library is still full, but the overall/larger library space has notably fewer people. The silence from the quiet section seems to have spread throughout the entirety of the library.
During warmer months, particularly when school starts, there is an increase in the number of students eating outside. This fall, especially, the front lawn has been packed with students sitting on the grass, eating, and chatting. In year’s past, students could regularly be found sitting on the front and back lawns in the warmer months, enjoying their lunch. However, with new regulations put in place over phone rules last school year, the numbers seemed to climb as students could be on their phones outside of the school. Regardless of the reason why students may be outside, spending time outdoors is always beneficial. As with any rule, it is more tempting to break it if it’s emphasized…
Unfortunately, as the winter months creep closer, it’s difficult for people to stay outside due to unpredictable weather conditions. In the winter months, the school becomes increasingly crowded during lunch hours. The cafeteria and libraries overflow with students who end up aimlessly roaming the hallways in search of places to sit. Staff often have to kick students out of sitting in the hallways and the PIT area during those lunch periods, especially on Thursday’s common lunches.
The library has not only served as a place to sit, but as a sanctuary for many students. As explained by an anonymous student, “When I was an underclassman, it was my refuge. If I didn’t know where to go or who to sit with, I could always go to the silent lunch and just feel secluded and safe in there, have my lunch, and chill out. And that was a good space for me.” They go on to say, “I think high school is scary. I think especially as a freshman coming in, you see all these really big people, you see all these really big groups, and if you were coming into it without a set group, it’s really a scary experience.”
High school can be a large and intense experience, especially for new students at the school. Whether you are a new student or you just need some alone time, the library has always been a place where you can go to have that sort of peace of mind. You could be alone without being alone. The option is technically still available to students, but with the new regulations put in place, students are feeling less inclined to use the space. Some may argue that if students feel alone or intimidated, the new rules would encourage them to go out and socialize in different spaces. Instead of being isolated in the library’s quiet section, they could be in the cafeteria, where they could meet new people. For freshmen, high school can be quite daunting (still is for us seniors), and it is far from guaranteed that students will find new friends or feel included in the cafeteria; in fact, sitting alone can just as easily leave them feeling more isolated and conspicuous. Additionally, it is worth noting, however, that not all students use the library because they feel awkward or alone. School can be a very overwhelming place, and sometimes you need a moment to get away and regroup. The larger library space, along with the quiet zone within it, has been a great place to do that in the past, but with the new implementations, the refuge the space once provided is no longer as restorative. Students have expressed these feelings towards staff, but it seems that there are not going to be any changes. We will see how student population distributions will change as we head into the winter months, with the annual cramming of the cafeterias with common lunch soon to come. As we creep towards those months, a pressing question arises: Will chai and hot chocolate be sold in the library anymore?
